Word Origin & History

am O.E. eom "to remain," (Mercian eam, Northumbrian am), from PIE *esmi- (cf. O.N. emi, Goth. im, Hittite esmi, O.C.S. jesmi, Lith. esmi), from base *es-, *s-, the S-ROOT, which also yielded Gk. esti-, L. est, Skt. as-, and Ger. ist. In O.E. it existed only in present tense, all other forms being expressed in the W-BASE (see were, was). This cooperative verb is sometimes referred to by linguists as *es-*wes-. Until the distinction broke down 13c., *es-*wes- tended to express "existence," with beon meaning something closer to "come to be" (see be). O.E. am had two plural forms: 1. sind/sindon, sie ...and 2. earon/aron The s- form (also used in the subjunctive) fell from use in the early 13c. (though it continues in Ger. sind, the 3rd person plural of "to be") and was replaced by forms of be, but aron (aren, arn, are, from P.Gmc. *ar-, probably a variant of PIE base *es-) continued, and as am and be merged it encroached on some uses that previously had belonged to be. By the early 1500s it had established its place in standard Eng. Art became archaic in the 1800s.